When I was in 6th grade, I got my first electives. I was able to choose which extra classes I wanted to take. I chose to work as a library assistant. I spent 45 minutes every school day helping my schoolmates check-in and books. I shelved books and had access to what the head Librarian called the “Closed Stacks”.
This is where the reference books and the material that was ‘special’ were kept. This was where our mythology was kept. Being in a rural area, deep in the heart of Jesusland, stories of Gods and Goddesses were considered out of reach for the average 6th grader. We had about seven books on ancient Greek Gods.
I sat in the closed stacks and devoured the tails of Medusa and Zeus. I poured through Athena and learned of the Minotaur and Hades. After my time as a library assistant, I moved on to other stories. Each of the old slowly slipped away from my memory. I looked back at the myths I read, and for the life of me, I cannot recall Hecate.
One of my favorite myths was the story of Demeter being sad as her daughter Persephone was away from her in Hades for part of the year. She would be so sad that the earth would freeze and all the life would stop until her return. I won't give away the story here, but I highly recommend reading it.
As an adult, I read of Hecate's role in her return. How she used her torches to light the way to Hades. How she stayed with her and guided her back to her mother in the spring. This myth reinforces her role as a guide to the thresholds.
Now when I look at the myths, and stories related to Zeus or to the Titans, I’m very interested in the lack of reference to Hecate. I spend a great deal of time now looking for historic and mythical information related to her. I’m looking forward to going through this project and exploring her mysteries.
Originally published on Blogger - 1/31/14 8:05 AM
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